This study examines the effectiveness of three approaches for maintaining equivalent performance standards across test forms with small samples: (1) common-item equating, (2) resetting the standard, and (3) rescaling the standard. Rescaling the standard (i.e., applying common-item equating methodology to standard setting ratings to account for…

Mixed-format assessments are increasingly being used in large scale standardized assessments to measure a continuum of skills ranging from basic recall to higher order thinking skills. These assessments are usually comprised of a combination of (a) multiple-choice items which can be efficiently scored, have stable psychometric properties, and…

In educational measurement, the construction of parallel test forms is often a combinatorial optimization problem that involves the time-consuming selection of items to construct tests having approximately the same test information functions (TIFs) and constraints. This article proposes a novel method, genetic algorithm (GA), to construct parallel…

This study applied kernel equating (KE) in two scenarios: equating to a very similar population and equating to a very different population, referred to as a distant population, using SAT® data. The KE results were compared to the results obtained from analogous classical equating methods in both scenarios. The results indicate that KE results are…

The goal of this study was the development of a procedure to predict the equating error associated with the long-term equating method of Tate (2003) for mixed-format tests. An expression for the determination of the error of an equating based on multiple links using the error for the component links was derived and illustrated with simulated data.…

Two local methods for observed-score equating are applied to the problem of equating an adaptive test to a linear test. In an empirical study, the methods were evaluated against a method based on the test characteristic function (TCF) of the linear test and traditional equipercentile equating applied to the ability estimates on the adaptive test…

Context effects are defined as being influences on test performance associated with the content of successively presented test items or sections. Four types of context effects are identified: (1) direct context effects (practice effects) which occur when performance on items is affected by the examinee having been exposed to similar types of…